As a companion to Love Letters of Great Men, this anthology gives the other side of the story: the secret hopes and lives of some of the greatest women in history. From the private papers of Anne Boleyn and Jane Austen to those of Emily Dickinson and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, this collection not only offers intimate glimpses into their emotional lives, it also reminds us that nothing surpasses the simple joy of sitting down to read a letter from the one you love most.

"The earliest letter comes from Lady Joan Pelham in 1399, tactfully explaining to her husband why he must abandon his fight against Richard II to protect against immediate threats at home. Tragic letters from both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn confess their love for Henry VIII, who would eventually execute both of them. Lord Byron provides the subject for more than one letter, illuminating his tangle of relationships, and other letters do the same for William Wordsworth and Robert Schumann. Revealing letters include Queen Victoria's, exposing her cloying relationship with Prince Albert; and a letter from Emily Dickinson to her sister-in-law and long-time companion, Susan Gilbert. [Editor Ursula] Doyle enriches her collection with succinct but insightful background notes."—Publishers Weekly